Pictures from our Sunday trip to Hatch, NM.

We had a very El Paso Labor Day weekend. It started with a wonderful Friday off that I spent popping in and out of a few shops and tending to the garden. Among the shops was Vintage by Thrift - the owner said they’d recently moved from their mainstay in downtown EP to the new space, a cozy corner spot in a strip adjacent to the University of El Paso campus. That night, we sipped drinks - a Shiner and a fancy mezcal-pineapple something - from the rooftop bar at Hotel Indigo, a swanky downtown joint. It was exquisite - and, we wound up having an hour or so of great conversation with two gals we’d been left to sit with by a very sweet, hospitable bar manager (who gave us a round of paleta shots, too!).

On Saturday, we attended the UTEP football season opener - their first home game AND 80s night. We’re walking distance - and it was cool to pass the bars and small tailgate area along with local fans, all dawning their Miners gear in orange and dark navy blue.

Then, on Sunday, we took a scenic 2-hour drive out to Hatch, New Mexico (on the way home, we took the highway - which took about an hour - a quick trip from EP).

The small city boasts its Chile namesake across many shop signs and menus. We had a regular lemonade - but spotted green Chile flavored on the same menu; A bar we stopped in served a slightly spicy, bold-flavored Green Chile Blonde Ale; And the small Mexican joint we wound up eating at in lieu of Sparky’s burgers (too long of a line!) turned out delicious - we each scarfed down a rice and beans plate - all homemade - one with Red Chile Enchiladas, another with a Green Chile Relleno, and a third with Pork Green Chile Stew.

On our way out, we stopped at the Vasquez Farms family shop - right off the town’s main street. We ducked under dozens of ristras - dried peppers hanging above us, in mostly red - some still green and orange, on the verge of turning. We grabbed some salsa, and as we stopped to take a final look outside, Elvia struck up conversation with a small banda - 3 men, two wearing noticeably fantastic boots, one ostrich (with a matching belt) and the other python.

We swayed as they played us two tunes, then we hit the road back to EP.